Boeing Proposal Could Still Pay Off, According To Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle

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Boeing Proposal Could Still Pay Off, According To Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle

You can see why any community would get excited to put together a jetliner like the 777X.

The new jetliner may just set a new benchmark for aviation, and we almost helped launch it into the skies.

But the unions who currently put together Boeing’s jets changed their mind and accepted the company’s contract offer, scuttling Huntsville’s bid to replace them.

They worked long hours in city government to put together the proposal for Boeing.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle explains, “We had teams working from county to city, from Chamber of Commerce to the Airport Authority, the state commerce department, all working throughout the holidays to get ready for the site visit with Boeing. We put a lot of hours into this.”

In government, like anywhere, time is money.

It was expensive trying to lure Boeing production facilities to Huntsville. However, there’s still a belief the city had such a good shot, that it had to be done.

Battle notes, “If the vote had gone a different way, one-percent different in Puget Sound, they’d be looking at us today.”

So Huntsville won’t lure this plane production here, but the efforts may not be in vain.

Battle says, “We would have loved to have the 777X produced here. It would have been a great game changer, but I think we’ll have some future projects that will be coming along with Boeing that we’re in a very good position for.”